Black Mountain (Benton): 3/11/2015

Mileage: 3.6
Elevation gain: 1730'
Trails used: Chippewa Trail.


I had the second of two days off from work to go hiking so I wanted to play it safe and go low key and not punish myself after hiking the Kinsmans the day before.  I needed something that would be broken out with views as the weather was forecasted for highs in the 40s and partly sunny skies.

Black Mountain is located in Benton and Haverhill, New Hampshire.  It is also located in the Black Mountain State Forest.  Some information can be found here.   I also decided to visit the lime kilns that are in the area on the way back down.  Of note, the Chippewa Trail is maintained by a good friend of mine, Mike Saltmarsh (AKA Salty, as he is know to us hikers) so I was doing this hike also to give him information on spring time trail maintenance he would have to do.

Black Mountain is on the New Hampshire 52 With-A-View (52 WAV) and New Hampshire Fire Tower List.

The start of the Chippewa Trail off of Lime Kiln Road.  The small trail head parking area was actually plowed out today.

Walking along the Chippewa Trail, which is part old logging road, part trail.  The snow was very mushy from the recent warmer weather so I wore snowshoes start to finish.

Beginning the ascent of Black Mountain up the Chippewa Trail, which heads up this old woods road with a steady ascent at first.

Black Mountain looming ahead.  Sometimes it seems like it is very high up and that you have a lot of elevation gain to reach the summit.

While I was heading up the Chippewa Trail, I managed to clear a few smaller sized blowdowns that I could move on my own, as well as smaller branches.

The Chippewa Trail has a good amount of yellow blazing, more than I remember being there when Desi and I first did this same hike.

Beginning the steep climb up the Chippewa Trail through nice woods.

A neat shot of what I think are red pines that you walk through on the way to the summit of Black Mountain.

The Chippewa Trail makes its way over this ledge area with good views.

Views to Piermont Mountain, Mount Cube and Smarts Mountain from some ledges just below the summit of Black Mountain.

Views into Vermont looking at the Knox Mountains, Butterfield Mountain, Signal Mountain and Camels Hump barely visible in the background.

Just when you think you are nearing the summit of Black Mountain, you still have to climb around these ledges to reach it.

Approaching the summit area of Black Mountain (elevation 2830').

Views towards the Kinsmans, Mount Wolf and Mount Liberty and Mount Flume from the summit area of Black Mountain.

Mount Moosilauke (in the clouds) from the summit of Black Mountain.

Views of Sugarloaf Mountain and the Hogsback, Mount Jeffers and Smarts Mountain, Mount Cube and Piermont Mountain (right) from the summit area of Black Mountain.

Coming down the ledges just below the summit of Black Mountain.  There were quite a few bare areas of rock so it was slow going on the snowshoes.

Beginning the steep descent of the Chippewa Trail in very soft snow.  The already warm weather made the snow like mashed potatoes so it was fun managing to not slip going down.

Almost back to the car, I decided to visit the remnants of lime kilns that are in the area.

A little information (if you can read it) on why the kilns are here and how they operated.

The bigger lime kiln which has been restored over the years.

The view of Sugarloaf Mountain from the frozen over beaver pond area along the Chippewa Trail on the way back to the car.

A woodpecker has gone to town on this tree.

A productive two days of hiking with warmer temperatures briefly teasing me with a preview of what I want to come SOON!  Enough with the snow and cold temperatures already.

Second time was the charm on this one.  I managed decent views this time around although the minor elevation gain did manage to wipe me out for today's hike.  It was probably because I was coming down with this pesky cold.   This hike can also be approached from the Black Mountain Trail on the north side of Black Mountain, but as Mike does a good job on the trail work, give it a try.

Bald Peak - North Kinsman - South Kinsman: 3/10/2015

Mileage: 9.7
Elevation gain: 3830'
Trails used: Mount Kinsman Trail, Bald Peak Spur, Kinsman Ridge Trail (Appalachian Trail).


I took Tuesday and Wednesday off from work to do some hiking, preferring to hike the Kinsmans and Mount Jefferson if the weather was going to be nice.  I decided to do the Kinsman hike (as Mount Jefferson had high winds forecasted through the day) and do the approach of both the north and south summits from the NH 116 side, which is how Desi and I first did this hike sans snow.  It was comfortable at the Mount Kinsman Trail parking area when I headed out, and it was a tad windy.

North and South Kinsman are located in Lincoln, New Hampshire.  South Kinsman is the highest peak in the Kinsman Range (a 16.9 mile ridge extending from Kinsman Notch to Cannon Mountain), followed by North Kinsman. There are several different trails that can be utilized to reach both summits and the views from each summit is pretty outstanding. The Appalachian Trail runs over the summit of both peaks on its way to and from Maine, respectively.

North Kinsman and South Kinsman are on the New Hampshire 4000 footer's list, the New England/New Hampshire 100 Highest/New Hampshire 200 Highest List and the New Hampshire 3k List.

The beginning of the Mount Kinsman Trail.  The trail head parking area was plowed out and not as icy as some people had reported recently.

The snow on the Mount Kinsman Trail was almost sidewalk strong so I decided my snowshoes would go for a ride on my backpack today.

Eventually the Mount Kinsman Trail starts to head up towards the junction of the Bald Peak Spur and towards the Kinsman Ridge Trail.

The Mount Kinsman Trail was hard packed so it was easy to bareboot my way up.

I took the short Bald Peak Spur Trail where there are nice views for a little effort.  Views towards Mount Moosilaukee, Mount Clough, Mount Jeffers and Black Mountain from the ledges on Bald Peak.

Views of nearby North Kinsman Mountain from the ledges on Bald Peak.

Views towards Cole Hill and Cooley Hills and hazy/cloudy views into Vermont from the ledges on Bald Peak.

Back at the junction for Bald Peak and the Mount Kinsman Trail, I would begin my ascent up to Kinsman Ridge to hit North Kinsman first.

Of course, as I started climbing higher on the Mount Kinsman Trail, the more the snow made its presence known.  There was still a good path up to the junction.

Almost to the junction of the Kinsman Ridge Trail, and hopefully, some nice views.

Looking up to the North Kinsman peak area from right around the junction of the Mount Kinsman Trail and the Kinsman Ridge Trail.

As you start to climb, and just below the summit of North Kinsman, you can get views into western New Hampshire and Vermont.

The view of Franconia Ridge from North Kinsman (elevation 4293'), with Cannon Mountain to the left.

Cannon Mountain and the Cannonballs.  You can see Mount Cabot in the distance.

Mount Liberty and Mount Flume, the Loon Mountain Ski Area, the Triyramids and Mount Tecumseh are just a few of the peaks you can see from North Kinsman.

On the way over to South Kinsman via the Kinsman Ridge Trail.  The wind started picking up to this point and the clouds moved in.

The long northern ridge of South Kinsman, and views towards Mount Moosilaukee and Mount Clough on the way to South Kinsman.

Looking over to to other summit of South Kinsman from summit area number one, where it is debated on which is higher.

The often recognized summit of South Kinsman (elevation 4358'). A second spot on the other summit bump for South Kinsman is another candidate for the highest point.

Mount Moosilaukee and Mount Clough from the summit of South Kinsman.

Franconia Ridge peaking up over the 2nd summit of South Kinsman.

Looking south from the summit of South Kinsman towards Mount Moosilaukee and the southern end of the Kinsman Ridge.

Mount Liberty and Mount Flume from the summit of South Kinsman.

On the way back to North Kinsman so I can head back to the car.  I could see pretty far into Vermont and Northern New Hampshire from up here.  Kinsman Pond is visible below North Kinsman and there is someone ice fishing there.

Last shot of the day of Franconia Ridge on my way back to North Kinsman.

Looking north towards Mount Cabot and the Pliny Range from the summit of North Kinsman.

An old sugarhouse that you pass on the way up (and down, if you do this as an out and back).

I passed one other person today so it was nice to have the trails pretty much to myself.  The weather wasn't bad and even with the wind, it felt nice.  No snow falling so overall it was a really good hike.  Doing both peaks, in my opinion, is easier this way.

Two more winter peaks are done and only two more left for my Winter 4k's (Owls Head and Mount Jefferson), which I will finish next year obviously.